Trumbull Election: Christine M. El Eris For Board Of Education

TRUMBULL, CT — Election Day is approaching fast, and a number of key positions in Trumbull will be on the ballot.

To help readers make an informed decision on Nov. 2, Patch has reached out to local candidates to share their views on various topics of importance in town.

Patch will post these candidate profiles over the next couple of weeks, so check back often to see the latest.

Democrat Christine M. El Eris, 51, is running for Board of Education in Trumbull.

Occupation: Product Director

Family:
Husband of 23 years: Fred Petrossi

Caleb Petrossi, age 8
Stella Petrossi, age 8

Both Stella and Caleb are in the third grade at Tashua School. Caleb has special learning needs.

Experience: Board of Finance, Alternate, and appointed in January 2020

Family in government: No

The single biggest issue in town is ______, and I plan to do this about it:

With respect to education, Trumbull Publc Schools have a well-deserved reputation for excellence by various quantitative measures (academics, quality of teachers, available clubs and activities, student proficiencies in math and reading). The Trumbull Public School System has been delivering on its mission: "...to meet the educational needs of all students within a challenging and supportive academic environment that empowers each student to become a life-long learner and to live and participate in a democratitc, diverse, and global society."

As we continue to adjust to and emerge from the health and safety precautions necessitated by the global pandemic, it is clear to me that meeting students' emotional needs is just as important as meeting their academic needs. Working to ensure that students' emotional and well-being needs are being met is equally as imporant as working to close any learning loss gaps.

If elected to the Board of Education, and I will advocate for and support resources needed to improve students emotional' well-being and resiliency.

Critical differences between me and my opponents:

I hope to bring two important perspectives to the Board of Education.

The first is as a parent of students who are currently enrolled in Trumbull Public Schools. My twin children are in the third grade at Tashua Elementary, my son has special learning needs. It is wonderful that so many current Board members have had long and vibrant careers working in education as teachers or administrators. They bring a depth and breadth of experience of evaulating policy and setting curriculum which I do not have. However I think the makeup of the board needs to also include parents of currently-enrolled public school students. Today's youth are growing up and engaging with a society which differs in so many ways from what we faced during our own childhood and teen years. Today's parents are closer to these unique challenges and I beleive there should be more than just one or two parents of current students among the eight elected Board members.

The second perspective I hope to bring to the Board is informed by my work on the Board of Finance through two town-wide budget and mil rate cycles. Board of Education members should provide financial oversight, and to ensure that budget and expenses are properly managed throughout the academic and fiscal year. The majority of taxpayer dollars flow to the school system. All residents in the town place their trust and confidence in the Board of Education to pay close attention to details and that they willl provide proper due diligence and review when adjustments or fund transfers need to be made. Progress has been made in response to the findings of the Operational Review conducted by accounting firm PKF O’Connor Davies. I want to be a voice on the Board who can ensure that internal controls on an over $100 million budget remain in place and that policies are adhered to.

Accomplishments:

I have spent 20 years of my career in Product Management, I understand how to manage and oversee a budget, as well how to listen to stakeholders, and build consensus to implement strategies. I am not an educator, but I am a parent who beleives strongly that all students' individual, unique, and and diverse needs should be supported.

Other issues:

In addition to providing sound sound fiscal oversight and ensuring students’ social and emotional needs are fully supported I plan to support the continued work of the Later School Start Time Commttee and work to enable ALL students in our diverse student body to reach their individual, unique, and full potential.

What else would you like voters to know about you?

In addition to my current service on the Board of Finance and I have been a past volunteer board member on the Trumbull Historical Society. Currently I am co-chairing a newly-established Tashua PTA Diversity Committee.